No one can accuse Melissa Etheridge of not having guts, and not just because of her status as an early LGBTQ icon, but recording a themed album of covers has become practically as de rigueur as a Christmas album, especially for older artists. Etheridge isn’t just taking on any old set of soft-rock standards, though. She started out more or less as a folkie, she’s always had more than a touch of the blues mama about her, and her rep was built on deeply painful, emotionally complex relationship songs. So it makes sense that she would take on a set of Stax classics, even if that means she’s also taking on the unenviable task of trying to make people forget Otis Redding for three minutes. It’s like not thinking about an elephant.

She’s correctly gambled that her passion is up to the task, though, so even though her voice is only adequate and appropriate—more supple than Pops Staples on her cover of “Respect Yourself,” but less dynamic than Mavis’—she still gets the job done. What’s more, she uses these classics to get deeper into her own muse than she has in years; her Memphis is not bar-band Blues Brothers blackface but the real gritty, greasy Memphis of, say, Cinemax’s Quarry. Changing the lyrics of “Respect Yourself” takes some bravery, too: Transforming a sideswipe at the hippie culture’s lack of decorum into a plea for nonviolent change makes it more relevant to the Age of Trump and somehow also more righteous in its anger.

Using the Hodges Brothers for backup and getting Willie Mitchell’s son Boo behind the boards makes everything, including those Otis covers, sound more like the Hi label than Stax, giving it not just continuity but a new, silkier sheen on songs as iconic as B.B. King’s “Rock Me Baby,” Albert King’s “Born Under a Bad Sign,” and William Bell’s “I Forgot to Be Your Lover.” You won’t forget the originals for long, but Melissa earns the right to spell “Memphis” in the title with a capital ME.